Make a Change
by pandorabox82
Summary: Penelope runs to London when she finds her heart broken by Derek. Emily may just hold the key to making everything better. Written to promote the Profiler Choice Awards


The last thing Penelope had ever imagined happening was losing her best friend to Rossi's ex-girlfriend. And yet, that is exactly what had happened the moment Erin had gotten out of the hospital, the ordeal with Curtis nearly killing her. Rossi had withdrawn from her, and Morgan had been the one to pick up the pieces.

And then, it was November, and they were married, leaving her out in the cold. It had been nothing to ask Hotch for a little time off, and she had bought a plane ticket to London, needing to see Emily, to have her say that everything would be all right, given enough time.

The plane rolled to a stop in front of the gate and she waited for the others to disembark, knowing that it would take a while before everyone was off, anyway. Finally, though, she was the last one on the plane, and she stood, smiling kindly at the flight attendant. "Thank you," she said as she passed him and he nodded at her.

"I hope you have a nice time in London," he replied.

"I'm going to try." She made her way off the plane and over to customs, getting in the long line. Penelope quickly found herself exhausted and by the time she was done, she wanted nothing more than to crawl into any bed and sleep the next three days away. And then she heard her name being called.

Looking around, her eyes finally settled on Emily and she gave her a soft, sad, smile. "Hey, Hotch called and said that you would be coming. What brings you here?"

Penelope shrugged, trying to get accustomed to the accent in Emily's voice. "You know about what happened, right?"

Emily nodded, wrapping her arm around Penelope's waist. "I already claimed your luggage and sent it to the car. And yes, I know about what happened with Strauss and Morgan. But why would you be upset by that? It's not like you were in love with him."

Her words hurt and Penelope tried to blink back the tears that sprang to her eyes. "No, but he was my best friend. Now it seems like she's the only one that he has time for these days." And she didn't want to admit to her that a tiny part of her heart was jealous of Derek, of the fact that he had snagged Erin. And that was a part of herself that she didn't want to admit existed.

"Wait, were you falling for her, too?" Emily asked as she guided her out to the waiting town car.

"How is it that you can see my hidden heart so quickly?" she whispered, climbing into the car next to Emily.

"We were close, back in the day. And we have talked almost every day since you left me here. Clyde always knows when it's time for our talk, he says that I light up when it gets close to that time."

Penelope felt her heart flutter strangely as she set her head on Emily's shoulder. It seemed like there was something more to her words, some undercurrent that she wasn't quite picking up on yet. "I have found myself looking forward to our calls more and more, as Der cleaved to Erin more. I just wish it didn't have to be an either or thing, you know?"

"I know, Pen." And then Emily kissed her head lightly, causing her to sigh deeply. "I've missed you."

The raw emotion in Emily's voice caught her off-guard and she froze, her hands digging into the loose fabric of her skirt. She could think of nothing to say, which was so unlike her, and she struggled to get out some acknowledgment of Emily's feelings. "Nothing is the same since you've gone."

"Change sucks, doesn't it?" Already, Emily was trying to remove herself from the situation, and Penelope knew that she had to act quickly, or she would lose the chance for something very precious in her life.

"Not always. Sometimes change can be a good thing. After all, you get to be here where all the cute actors are an inch away from royalty, and you can greet them at the stage door without having to worry about overzealous paparazzi." Emily laughed lightly as Penelope turned towards her. Her palms began to sweat a little as she took a deep breath, looking deeply into her eyes. "And sometimes change can help nudge us into something good."

Penelope closed the distance between their mouths, kissing Emily softly, letting her decide whether or not she wanted to deepen the kiss, to take things farther. She wasn't really certain of what she was doing, but some small voice in her head told her that she was making the right move, that this was a resting place for her bruised heart. And then, Emily was gently pushing her back against the seat of the car, covering her body with her own, and she gave herself over to the sensations her friend was drawing out of her. "Are you sure that you want to keep going?" she asked as she finally broke the kiss.

"Emily, if I was certain about anything, I honestly wouldn't be here. I need to find my moorings once more. I had no idea that kissing you would even by a thought in my head until it happened. But it felt right. Have you ever had anything feel so right before?"

Emily shook her head and then helped her to sit back up, her arm coming to rest around Penelope's shoulders. She snuggled in close to her friend, listening to the beating of her heart as they fell silent. "Do you think that you could make a long distance relationship work?" Emily finally asked, her words soft and tender.

"Yes. If Blake can make it work with her personality, I am certain that we can make it work. And I promise that we will last the tests of time."

"How can you be that certain?"

"Simple. All I had to do was make a change in my way of thinking. You'll get used to it, I promise." She kissed Emily once more, smiling against her lips as the warm mantle of happiness settled around her heart.

**NOMINATIONS HAVE STARTED FOR PROFILER'S CHOICE CRIMINAL MINDS FANFIC AWARDS! Calling all CM readers and authors! Join us for the annual Profiler's Choice CM Awards on fanfiction . net! Help us choose the best of the best of the CM stories on this site, and let your voice be heard. Please check out the nomination ballot and rules at the ProfilerChoiceAwards2013 Forum. All rules and information are on the forum. Nominations are due October 31st. All entries with ten or more categories filled out are eligible to win one of two Amazon gift cards!**


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